Save Our Mangham-Wilson-Allen Streamliner!
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THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM FIRE
By Dennis Tackett
There are some events, good or bad, which will stand out forever in our memories. These are as personal as the first time you met your future wife or as nationally tragic as President Kennedy’s Assignation or 9/11.
For a lifelong motorcyclist such as me, these memories include Saturdays at Big D Cycle with my best friend Keith Martin (Big D Mechanic) and personal hero Jack Wilson (Big D Owner), my first Triumph (1973 Bonneville), and my first Daytona race (blowing the engine of my vintage racer on the Big Bank and locking up the rear tire).
Now unfortunately, there was going to be another memory added to this list. It was going to be just another day at work when I came in to the office at 7am on September 17, 2003. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to read my many e-mails as usual. One message caught my eye from a contractor that lives in the UK. He knew of my passion for motorcycling and vintage British bikes in particular. As I opened his message and began to read, the world suddenly became a little emptier, a little crueler. On September 16, 2003 there was a fire at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, England. Three of the five display halls had burned.
This museum was Mecca for British bike enthusiasts. It has always been there (30 years) and I had planned to go there one day to see in person the bikes I had only read about. There was no rush. It was one of those trips you knew would happen someday, like seeing the Grand Canyon, or visiting Washington DC. I had just been to London in February on business. I was going to stay over the weekend and travel to the museum, but there was a transportation strike that week and all the trains were shut down. No big deal, I told myself, there will be another chance to see the museum. Little did I know that this would be one of my worst personal disappointments, as this would be my last chance to see the museum and bikes in all their original glory.
This tragedy also took on a personal note for me. The 1956 Triumph Streamliner that set the world motorcycle speed record at 214 mph had been on display in the Competition Hall. The team of Jack Wilson (tuner), Johnny Allen (rider), and Stormy Mangham (builder) set the motorcycling world on its collective ear by beating the Bonneville speed record set by the factory NSU team. This bike was sold to the museum by Jack Wilson in 1983. Jack felt this would be a more proper venue for display of this historic machine instead of hanging from the rafters in the very back of Big D Cycle in Oak Cliff, Texas. None of the original team is alive today.
This sad event has led to the formation of a core group of volunteers and restoration experts to save the Wilson-Allen-Mangham Triumph Streamliner. The story of our group will be told in following articles. In the meantime, review the history of the museum and just some of the historically significant bikes in the collection. You can’t know where you are if you don’t know where you’ve been or how you got here.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The National Motorcycle Museum has been described as 'the world's finest motorcycle museum' and our aim is to make this description a true one at all times. It is a place where the motorcycle assumes its rightful position as the premier exhibit. It is also a tribute to and a living record of this once great British industry which dominated world markets for some sixty years.
In a society which is quick to lose its appreciation of the inherent skills and industry of the nation, this museum records for posterity the engineering achievements of an earlier era, and an older generation can once again view with nostalgia the machines they rode in days gone by.
There is little doubt that the museum will be recognized as the center for all groups and organizations with interests in the British motorcycle industry, and, as a meeting place in pleasant surroundings for all kinds of activities related to the industry.
The National Motorcycle Museum experienced a severe fire on the afternoon of 16th September.
The buildings were successfully evacuated using established safety procedures and there have been no casualties.
Over 250 of the exhibits in the Museum have been saved. Sadly, three of the Museums five exhibit halls have been destroyed along with their exhibits, totaling around 650 machines.
The main entrance and reception area, and much of the northern section of the Museum has not been damaged, and the Crows Nest, Balcony and Wardroom suites are fully operational, although use of these suites will be limited because of the adjacent building work while the Museum is being rebuilt.
The Museum’s largest suite, The Imperial, which can host 850 delegates, is undergoing refurbishment after smoke and water damage. We had hoped to be operational next year, but now expect to reopen for larger events in January 2005.
Many irreplaceable machines have been damaged in the fire, but, where possible, they will be restored once again to their original showroom condition. To this end we shall be appealing for many scarce components and parts which will be needed. Details will be posted to this web site shortly.
The Museum has received countless messages of support and offers of assistance. We are grateful to everybody, and undertake to do our utmost to restore the greatest collection of British motorcycles back to its former glory.
National Motorcycle Museum,
Sales Offices,
86 Henwood Lane,
Solihull,
B91 2TH
UKhttp://www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.nationalmotorcyclemuseum.co.uk/museum/triumph1.htm
The sixty years from 1901 to 1961 saw the birth of the British motorcycle industry and its subsequent development to a position of world domination. Researchers have shown that in this time something like 500 different makes came into being but most disappeared without leaving even a single example of their work. A considerable number did survive however, and became important industrial enterprises employing a great number of people. In the museum we have tried to put together a representative selection with one machine for each of the 60 years.
1935+ Ariel Square Four Collection
Manufacturer: ARIEL
Year of Manufacture: 1935+
Bike Name: Ariel Square Four CollectionThe Ariel Square Four
This remarkable design, by Edward Turner, was launched in the early 30s and remained in production for over 30 years. The unique configuration of four parallel cylinder bores and geared cranks made a very good, compact engine with good performance. The group illustrates the development of this model over the years.
Left to right 1949 1000cc 4G, 1935 600 ohc, 1938 1000cc 4G, 1959 1000 cc 4G Mk2 (in front) 1939 600cc 4F.
This famous Birmingham make had a life spanning nearly 70 years, production ending in 1970 after amalgamation with BSA. Ariels were very popular in the 1930s, the Red Hunter series becoming bestsellers. The post-war Leaders and Arrows with two-stroke engines were good-looking machines which performed well but failed to save the marque.1938+ BSA Gold Star Collection
Manufacturer: BSA
Year of Manufacture: 1938+
Bike Name: BSA Gold Star CollectionBSA Gold Star
The marque commemorates the Gold Star awarded at Brooklands to any rider who achieved a lap of over 100mph in a race. In 1937 Wal Handley lapped at 107.57mph on a standard BSA Empire Star 500 (albeit one which had been adapted to run on pure alcohol). This success inspired the launching of Gold Stars, the first one coming on to the market in 1938.
Britain’s largest and most successful motorcycle manufacturer was BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Company). Their factory at Small Heath was a familiar Birmingham landmark for more than a hundred years and produced a wide range of machines from the humble Bantam to the formidable Rocket III with its three-cylinder ohv engine mounted transversely.1950+ Triumph Twins Collection
Manufacturer: Triumph
Year of Manufacture: 1950+
Bike Name: Triumph Twins CollectionA collection of Edward Turner’s famous Triumph twins 1952 Tiger 100, 1954 Speed Twin, 1955 Tiger 110, 1958 Tiger 110, 1959 Bonneville and (in front) 1950 Thunderbird.
Like many of the Coventry makes, Triumph had their roots in the bicycle industry, beginning motorcycle production in 1902. In 1908 they won the single-cylinder class in the TT races, the machine being powered by a 500cc engine designed by one of the German founders of the firm, Maurice Schulte. After the First World War Triumph were also involved with car production, but once this interest was relinquished when separate companies were established in 1936 the marque became truly successful. This was due to the first of the famous Speed Twins, launched in 1937 with a vertical ohv engine. This was the ancestor of many great machines produced after the Second World War, notably the Thunderbirds and Bonnevilles.1970's Triumph Racers Collection 1970's Triumph Racers Collection
(Pre-Fire) (Post-Fire)
Manufacturer: Triumph
Year of Manufacture: 1970's
Bike Name: Triumph Racers CollectionThree of the celebrated three-cylinder Triumph racers from the 70s. (Left to right) No. 67 ‘Slippery Sam’, winner of five consecutive Production TT Races 1971/75. No. 6, winner of the 1971 Formula 750 TT ridden by Ray Pickrell. No. 70, winner of the 1971 Bol d’Or 24-Hour Race at the Circuit Bugatti. Riders Percy Tait and Ray Pickrell covered 616 laps at 71mph in heavy rain.
1955 Triumph Streamliner (Pre-Fire) 1955 Triumph Streamliner (Post-Fire)
Manufacturer: Triumph
Year of Manufacture: 1955
Bike Name: Triumph Streamliner
cc: 650cc650cc Triumph Streamliner. At Bonneville Salt Flats in September 1955, this streamliner with a standard Triumph cast-iron 650cc twin cylinder engine prepared by Jack Wilson of Dallas recorded a speed of 193mph. The rider was Johnny Allen of Texas. A year later he improved on this, pushing the speed up to 214mph. The streamliner was a new concept in record-breakers at the time.
1973 Triumph Quadrant
Manufacturer: Triumph
Year of Manufacture: 1973
Bike Name: Triumph 4 Cylinder Experimental
cc: 1000cc1000cc Triumph four-cylinder. The big one! Built experimentally in 1973 from Trident three-cylinder parts. It was good for more than 125mph but did not survive, it came just too late. Nicknamed the ‘Quadrant’.
THE NORTON COLLECTION
Manufacturer: Norton
Year of Manufacture: 1949
Bike Name: Eric Oliver Norton-Watsonian Racing Sidecar Outfit
cc: 500ccEric Oliver Norton-Watsonian racing sidecar outfit 500cc. Eric Oliver was Sidecar World Champion three times after the War, always on Norton-Watsonian outfits. Before that he was a grass-track ace solo and sidecar rider. As a flight engineer on Lancaster bombers he survived 47 missions. Long retired, he took up vintage racing, building a retro outfit like this one, and won his last race at Brands Hatch in 1978.
Manufacturer: Norton
Year of Manufacture: 1965
Bike Name: Norton P10
cc: 800cc800cc Norton P.10. An experimental prototype designed to replace the Atlas. The engine was not a success and was abandoned but the frame was forerunner of the Isolastic frame used in the Commando. The P.10 engine was a double ohc twin, with a long single chain enclosed in small tubes driving the camshafts.
Manufacturer: Norton
Year of Manufacture: 1991
Bike Name: Norton Rotary
1992 Senior TT Winner w/ Steve Hislop - Rider
Author Dennis Tackett pictured on bike (wake up Dennis, it’s a dream!)The museum owns all 10 of the Norton Factory Rotary racers. These bikes easily topped 190 mph and were a serious threat to established race teams of the major manufacturers in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Unfortunately, the major manufacturers were successful in obtaining a ban on rotary powered entries in all international race classes. This ended the last racing effort by Norton.
The greatest name in British motorcycles dates from 1901, when James Lansdowne Norton began building machines with French and Swiss engines. In 1907 Norton won the twin-cylinder class in the first TT race, beginning a sporting tradition that went on until the 1960s. J.L. Norton died in 1925 aged only 56, but he saw his machines win the Senior and sidecar TT’s in 1924. Nortons also appealed to ordinary motorcyclists who enjoyed the reliability and performance offered by single-cylinder engines with separate gearboxes. The marque withdrew their teams from racing in 1938 but after the War (when Norton produced more than 100,000 machines for the forces) they returned to the fray with notable success, the names of Geoff Duke, John Surtees and Derek Minter becoming famous. Sadly Norton epitomized the failure of the British motor cycle industry through the 1960s and 70s, struggling valiantly but failing to survive.
MUSEUM HISTORY
The National Motorcycle Museum is privately owned. Roy Richards spent 30 years collecting the bikes and building first class display facilities for them. He is determined to rebuild and restore everything to original condition and plans to re-open in December 2004.
8 November 2003
